Evan Engram is fresh off a Pro Bowl season. Yet, it’s safe to say the New York Giants tight end has yet to truly breakthrough. Head coach Joe Judge is clearly fond of the uber-athletic pass catcher, readily praising the Ole Miss product for his premier work ethic and leadership traits. However, at some point, those qualities need to carry over to consistent on-field production — something that has eluded Engram over his first four NFL seasons.
Could year five finally be the season that Engram puts it all together? If you said yes, then Pro Football Network’s James Fragoza has a message for you — spoiler, it’s not overly optimistic.
“It has been four years since Evan Engram entered the league, yet every offseason, analysts continue to say, ‘this could be the season Engram breaks out.’ It isn’t going to happen,” Fragoza wrote, who named Engram the Giants’ most overrated player. “He is basically a big-bodied wide receiver with little blocking prowess. Even as a receiver, Engram dropped 11 passes last year (most among TEs).”
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Can Engram Turn it Around?
Fragoza did note that if Engram could find a way to “increase his catch rate” and cut down on his drops, the 26-year-old could “erase his name from this list [of the league’s most overrated players].” While in theory, this is nice, it’s also likely a longshot.
In 2020, Engram hauled in just 63 of his team-high 109 targets, a catch rate of 57.8%. In comparison to other tight ends, his catch rate percentage was good enough for fifth — not across the entire NFL — but rather just within the NFC East.
Of course, drops are at the root of Engram’s catch rate struggles, although those playing devil’s advocate could theoretically point to quarterback Daniel Jones and his 32nd-ranked completion percentage (62.5) as being equally guilty. With that said, Engram’s hovered around a similar catch rate throughout the entirety of his Giants tenure. Since 2017, he owns a 60.7% catch rate and has dropped 25 passes, many of which came while Jones was still taking economics courses at Duke.
Is This Engram’s Ceiling?
The fact of the matter is, Engram’s blue-chip traits make it difficult for people to accept the player that he currently is — and for the most part, will likely remain. It’s admittedly frustrating to come to terms with as he checks off every box you’d look for in an elite tight end. However, he’s simply not that. Elite tight ends don’t go three consecutive seasons failing to eclipse three touchdown receptions and they certainly don’t let the football hit the ground at the rate that he does.
Yet, if Giants fans could accept him for what he is — an above-average weapon — they’d likely be a bit more content with the situation. Especially when you take into consideration that he’s the 33rd highest-paid tight end in football ($2.68 million average per year). Hell, he’s not even the highest-paid tight end on his own team. That honor goes to the recently acquired Kyle Rudolph, who more than doubles Engram’s pay at $6 million per year.
While he certainly left some big plays on the field, his production this past season was still respectable. His 63 receptions for 654 yards each ranked third amongst all NFC tight ends. While he still has his limitations as a blocker, he did show growth and a willingness to get his hands dirty in the run game in 2020. Furthermore, and arguably most important, he appeared in all 16 games for the first time in his NFL career.
Although he’s attempted to moonlight as one in years past, Engram is not a go-to target in a proficient offense. The good news for the Giants this coming season is he’ll no longer need to man a role that supersedes his abilities. With the addition of the aforementioned Kyle Rudolph, as well as the offseason acquisitions of Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, Engram can finally slide into a secondary role better suited for both he and the Giants’ offense as a whole. In return, don’t be surprised if 2021 ends up being one of his better overall seasons, even if his numbers aren’t the gaudiest.
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